"You want to kill him but he’s crying": More Israeli soldiers’ confessions of crimes against children

n 2007, Israeli soldiers arrested 13-year-old Majid Jaradat for throwing stones during a demonstration in Sair village, near Hebron. Majed spoke about the violence of his arrest and detention in a video produced by Israeli rights organization B’tselem.

But this was no isolated case. Many more such incidents are reported in a new publication from the Israeli veterans’ organization Breaking The Silence with shocking admissions from Israeli soldiers about the maltreatment of Palestinian children under Israeli occupation. The disturbing violations of children’s rights by soldiers took place in the occupied Palestinian territories between 2005-2011.

In the era of the Arab Spring, many wonder how the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has managed to weather the storm of regional unrest with such apparent ease. The answer to this question in part lies in the construction of the country’s parliamentary system, which on the surface gives the kingdom the veneer of a semi-democratic state.

Upon closer examination though, the Parliament can be seen a mere pressure release valve for the regime and source of political distraction for the general population. It is designed to fail as a legislative body, and the recent streak of parliamentary absurdities prove that it is performing exactly according to design.